Facing the Victims

Source: (2004) ABA Journal. Jan.(90): 71-73.

Restorative justice programs and practices take a number of forms with each having particular purposes or aims. In this article, Steven Keeva describes his visit to a maximum security prison in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to observe a program for inmates based on restorative justice principles. This program, in which inmates and crime victims meet in a group to talk about crime and its effects, is intended to help offenders understand the impact of their crimes on victims. Keeva recounts some of the stories told of the effects of crime and the inmates’ responses to hearing victims’ experiences.